Can someone help explain Disneyland area to me? Ideas for other destinations

[Magalex]

We are taking our first trip to DL in 11 days. We have a day to take the OC Beach Bus Tour. This is the website:

http://anaheim411.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=92

 

[bhyer]

OP here. WOW is all I can say. I honestly had NO idea there was THAT much to do. I just feel so overwhelmed....I guess that is why I gravitate back to WDW every year, it is familiar! Ok going with my DL theme - questions below!

1. I am GUESSING 4 days for DL.
2. Universal. I have been to FL version several times. Is it worth it for this one? Is it a lot different? Obviously no Potter World....
3. Beach. I could do one for a few nights....maybe!
4. I saw that Adventures By Disney does a Hollywood excursion to which you don't have to be part of an Adventures By Disney tour to go on. Side trip that we could do. Anyone do a day trip with AbD? Figure a day here...

I can't really see Sea World in the plans..or LEGOLAND either.....Would another amusement park be worth seeing or can my time be spent elsewhere? No idea Disney museum was there. Would like to do this...Not sure about San Fransisco. Seems so overwhelming to try to grasp all this...

Where did you see the Hollywood excursion that is hosted by Adventures for Disney? I know there had been one offered awhile back and it was discontinued. If there is one being offered now can you tell me what site you found it on?

 

[BruinEd03]

Why not wine tasting with kids in tow? The last time I went wine tasting we brought along the kid since that winery had no restrictions on children. We went on a tour and when it came time for the complimentary tasting, our kid was handed a cup of grape juice so as to not feel left out. However, this was a major winery and that's probably why they were prepared.

My only concern was that the kids might get a little bored, especially if you do more than a few wineries back to back. There aren't a lot of entertainment options for kids.

 

[rwdavis2]

My only concern was that the kids might get a little bored, especially if you do more than a few wineries back to back. There aren't a lot of entertainment options for kids.

I agee. Most wineries are set up to handle kids. Also, Temecula has the reputation of large party buses with drunk tourists.

 

[uncw89]

OP here. WOW is all I can say. I honestly had NO idea there was THAT much to do. I just feel so overwhelmed....I guess that is why I gravitate back to WDW every year, it is familiar! Ok going with my DL theme - questions below!

1. I am GUESSING 4 days for DL.
2. Universal. I have been to FL version several times. Is it worth it for this one? Is it a lot different? Obviously no Potter World....
3. Beach. I could do one for a few nights....maybe!
4. I saw that Adventures By Disney does a Hollywood excursion to which you don't have to be part of an Adventures By Disney tour to go on. Side trip that we could do. Anyone do a day trip with AbD? Figure a day here...

I can't really see Sea World in the plans..or LEGOLAND either.....Would another amusement park be worth seeing or can my time be spent elsewhere? No idea Disney museum was there. Would like to do this...Not sure about San Fransisco. Seems so overwhelming to try to grasp all this...

Where did you see the Hollywood excursion that is hosted by Adventures for Disney? I know there had been one offered awhile back and it was discontinued. If there is one being offered now can you tell me what site you found it on?

I don't think they are offing the ABD Hollywood tour anymore. I asked and was told that they don't know if they are going to bring it back or not.

 

[mom2aredhead]

If you're going to do Hollywood and its within your budget, I would very highly recommend spending 1 night at the Loews Hollywood Hotel and a Hollywood City Pass. Loews has different rates/packages available on their website..look for one that includes breakfast. Its not cheap, but it is literally attached to the Kodak theater at the corner of Hollywood and Highland. It is the hotel that Adventures by Disney uses..definitely worth the few extra $$ compared to some of the others based on location alone.
The city pass gives you a guided walking tour of Hollywood Blvd/Walk of Fame, a bus tour into the Hollywood Hills to gawk at celebrity homes, and admission to either the Kodak theater tour or the Hollywood museum. All of this is easily done over 2 days, and the Hotel is literally right in the middle of it all. If you are renting a car, head over to Beverly Hills where surprisingly there are cheap places to park and reasonably priced restaurants. And fun people watching and window shopping. Last trip I had my 15 yo niece and 8 yo old son with us and we all absolutely LOVED Hollywood.
San Diego is beautiful..loved the zoos (both), Old Town, the Hornblower cruise, Midway museum, and Coronado Island s a great pit stop for your beach day. Glorietta Bay Inn is much more reasonably priced than the Del, includes breakfast, and is across the street from the beach. We have also stayed at the Marriott in Coronado which is on the bay side looking back at the SD skyline. Also really nice.
Hope this helps!

 

[scottmel]

If you're going to do Hollywood and its within your budget, I would very highly recommend spending 1 night at the Loews Hollywood Hotel and a Hollywood City Pass. Loews has different rates/packages available on their website..look for one that includes breakfast. Its not cheap, but it is literally attached to the Kodak theater at the corner of Hollywood and Highland. It is the hotel that Adventures by Disney uses..definitely worth the few extra $$ compared to some of the others based on location alone.
The city pass gives you a guided walking tour of Hollywood Blvd/Walk of Fame, a bus tour into the Hollywood Hills to gawk at celebrity homes, and admission to either the Kodak theater tour or the Hollywood museum. All of this is easily done over 2 days, and the Hotel is literally right in the middle of it all. If you are renting a car, head over to Beverly Hills where surprisingly there are cheap places to park and reasonably priced restaurants. And fun people watching and window shopping. Last trip I had my 15 yo niece and 8 yo old son with us and we all absolutely LOVED Hollywood.
San Diego is beautiful..loved the zoos (both), Old Town, the Hornblower cruise, Midway museum, and Coronado Island s a great pit stop for your beach day. Glorietta Bay Inn is much more reasonably priced than the Del, includes breakfast, and is across the street from the beach. We have also stayed at the Marriott in Coronado which is on the bay side looking back at the SD skyline. Also really nice.
Hope this helps!

Sending you PM...

 

[mom2aredhead]

Sending you PM...

I just responded to you - twice apparently since my phone wasn't cooperating and I didn't think the first one went through. The second message has a lot more info for you.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I just responded to you - twice apparently since my phone wasn't cooperating and I didn't think the first one went through. The second message has a lot more info for you.

Jumping in to say thanks for the info you posted - we are also planning our first DL trip with DD14 and DD10, so I am following this thread with a lot of interest! We are planning to go to Hollywood, DLR and San Diego, so please keep the recommendations coming!

How many days should we plan for Hollywood to see the tourist stuff? We also want to do the Warner Brothers tour. DH wants to do the TMZ tour - is it worth it?

Thanks for your help, and sorry OP for the mini-hijacking!

 

[uncw89]

Jumping in to say thanks for the info you posted - we are also planning our first DL trip with DD14 and DD10, so I am following this thread with a lot of interest! We are planning to go to Hollywood, DLR and San Diego, so please keep the recommendations coming!

How many days should we plan for Hollywood to see the tourist stuff? We also want to do the Warner Brothers tour. DH wants to do the TMZ tour - is it worth it?

Thanks for your help, and sorry OP for the mini-hijacking!

Ok. I'm hijacking the tread for a minute!! Long time since I've seen you around!!! LOL!! When are you all planning on going?

I'm loving all the info too!!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Ok. I'm hijacking the tread for a minute!! Long time since I've seen you around!!! LOL!! When are you all planning on going?

I'm loving all the info too!!

Right back at you! I have been lurking on this side of the board for a few months.

I think we are going next July, although it seems counterintuitive to me as an East Coaster. Second choice would be the last week of June after grad nights (which is a little better for our schedule), but it is the last week some of the SoCal APs are unblocked and would probably be busier than July.

 

[scottmel]

I love the thread hijacks!! I am the OP and gathering all info I can find. I have had some great replies and one super nice poster recommended staying at the Loewes Hotel that AbD uses for their tour and buying the Hollywood CityPass and you stay there for a night or 2 and do Hollywood with this city pass thing. I am anxious to hear how your questions are answered as I don't know which tours you are referring to but am interested!

And yes the question of WHEN To go is a great one. I just ASSUMED mid June but is this wrongful thinking???

 

[mom2aredhead]

Jumping in to say thanks for the info you posted - we are also planning our first DL trip with DD14 and DD10, so I am following this thread with a lot of interest! We are planning to go to Hollywood, DLR and San Diego, so please keep the recommendations coming!

How many days should we plan for Hollywood to see the tourist stuff? We also want to do the Warner Brothers tour. DH wants to do the TMZ tour - is it worth it?

Thanks for your help, and sorry OP for the mini-hijacking!

You are welcome.
We stayed 1 night in Hollywood and did all of the tourist stuff over 2 days. I have never done the Warner Brothers tour, but have heard good things, and may do it during our upcoming trip in a few months. If so, I will make sure to let you know.
We didn't do the TMZ tour only because my son was 8 during our last trip and I thought he would be a little young for it We did the Hollywood Hills tour that was included in the City Pass and it was really fun and interesting. Citypass includes a lot of attractions for $59 - I highly recommend looking into it. www.citypass.com/hollywood. And/or they also have a SoCal one that includes DL and SD Zoo tix.
We've always stayed in Coronado for the San Diego part of our trips, but we are beach people. I can recommend Glorietta Bay Inn (across the street from the beach on the ocean side) or the Marriott (on the bay side). Or - budget permitting - the Hotel Del Coronado, which I have walked around and through, eaten in, taken pictures of, but have never stayed there because I cannot wrap my head around the prices since we're normally there during holiday weeks.
I PM'd some more info to the OP, and told her she is welcome to post it any/all of it on here as well.
Glad I could be of help!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I love the thread hijacks!! I am the OP and gathering all info I can find. I have had some great replies and one super nice poster recommended staying at the Loewes Hotel that AbD uses for their tour and buying the Hollywood CityPass and you stay there for a night or 2 and do Hollywood with this city pass thing. I am anxious to hear how your questions are answered as I don't know which tours you are referring to but am interested!

And yes the question of WHEN To go is a great one. I just ASSUMED mid June but is this wrongful thinking???

Going to WDW, we know it is best to go as soon as school gets out (for crowds as well as heat). Apparently for DL, June is not the best time in the summer for several reasons:

"June Gloom" means it may be cool and cloudy for the first part of the day. Sounds heavenly to me in June, but it seems to be less preferable for the people who know better!

Grad nights are in June - people reported higher crowds of teenagers in the evenings on those nights. I have a teenager myself, but I know how they can be in groups sometimes. Grad night dates for 2014 are May 16th, May 17th, May 21st, May 22nd, May 24th, May 28th, May 30th, May 31st, June 4th, June 6th, June 7th, June 10th, June 11th, June 13th, June 14th, June 18th, June 19th.

I'm not sure about the dates for 2014, but for 2013, SoCal Select APs are blocked out in June, but the other SoCal APs are not blocked until the very end of June/first of July. We were thinking about the last week of June, but I am afraid the SoCal AP holders will be trying to squeeze in some summer visits before they are blocked until late August. Deluxe APs are only blocked on Saturdays in the summer.

So even though the last week of June fits a bit better with the rest of the summer plans, I think we will go in mid-July. Hope this helps!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

You are welcome.
We stayed 1 night in Hollywood and did all of the tourist stuff over 2 days. I have never done the Warner Brothers tour, but have heard good things, and may do it during our upcoming trip in a few months. If so, I will make sure to let you know.
We didn't do the TMZ tour only because my son was 8 during our last trip and I thought he would be a little young for it We did the Hollywood Hills tour that was included in the City Pass and it was really fun and interesting. Citypass includes a lot of attractions for $59 - I highly recommend looking into it. www.citypass.com/hollywood. And/or they also have a SoCal one that includes DL and SD Zoo tix.
We've always stayed in Coronado for the San Diego part of our trips, but we are beach people. I can recommend Glorietta Bay Inn (across the street from the beach on the ocean side) or the Marriott (on the bay side). Or - budget permitting - the Hotel Del Coronado, which I have walked around and through, eaten in, taken pictures of, but have never stayed there because I cannot wrap my head around the prices since we're normally there during holiday weeks.
I PM'd some more info to the OP, and told her she is welcome to post it any/all of it on here as well.
Glad I could be of help!

Thanks very much! I will check out your San Diego hotel recs as well as the Loews in Hollywood. I looked at the Loews in Coronado, but the rooms have double beds and DH prefers queens. It looks great for families, though! It seems that many of the hotels have double beds, so he might just have to make do with that for a couple of nights.

I keep looking at the City Pass options to see which would be best for us, if any. I don't think we will do Sea World or Universal this trip, but that is subject to change. DH does not want this to be a "theme park" trip, but he has given in to my need for three days at DLR. He was originally thinking one day at Disneyland would be plenty.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I'm moving this over to the SoCal board now that you have some responses.

 

[key2ursoul]

First, I'd like to say that it's great you're venturing out of Disneyland. One of the main differences between the DLR and WDW is WDW is a vacation destination and the DLR is an attraction of a vacation destination, which is California.

There's not much to do in Anaheim itself, but the good thing is there are lots of activities to do that aren't far at all from Anaheim. I'd go north from Anaheim and visit the Los Angeles and Hollywood area. You could take a Los Angeles/Hollywood tour. So many popular places and landmarks you could visit. Beverly Hills, museums, the Grove, Hollywood and Highland, multiple studio tours, Universal... The possibilities are endless. Not to mention all the popular SoCal places you could visit, like In-N-Out, Tommy's, Pink's, Roscoe's, etc. I love the Disney Soda Fountain in Hollywood. If you REALLY want to go way north, then San Francisco is a must. I love Frisco. Pier 39, the Golden Gate Bridge, great places to eat and not to mention, the Disney Family Museum.

Going more south of Anaheim, San Diego is amazing. Again, great places to eat and fun things to do, like the zoo, Sea World, Old Town, etc.

I am loving this thread...heading out there in Jan for the first time myself, and I need to figure out if trying to rent a car is my only option, or if there's an easy way to get into LA and Hollywood via public transportation. Can anyone help? What can I do without driving?

 

[Magalex]

We are a family of three and had a great time with the OC Beach Tour(picks up guests at any of the Anaheim motels). OC Beach Bus Tour would be a great easy relax tour option for any one by themselves. We were first time Southern Ca/Disneyland visitors first time during this past July. I highly recommend it. Also the car service we used to/from Candy Cane Inn/airport was wonderful too. Sunny's Transportation will also take guests to other places. So two up for OC Beach Bus Tour (tour guide-Tom) and Sunny from Sunny's Transportation.

 

[key2ursoul]

We are a family of three and had a great time with the OC Beach Tour(picks up guests at any of the Anaheim motels). OC Beach Bus Tour would be a great easy relax tour option for any one by themselves. We were first time Southern Ca/Disneyland visitors first time during this past July. I highly recommend it. Also the car service we used to/from Candy Cane Inn/airport was wonderful too. Sunny's Transportation will also take guests to other places. So two up for OC Beach Bus Tour (tour guide-Tom) and Sunny from Sunny's Transportation.

Thanks so much! I'm going solo for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Jan, so a tour would be best for me I think. How many days would you recommend spending in the Parks?

 

[Magalex]

Thanks so much! I'm going solo for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Jan, so a tour would be best for me I think. How many days would you recommend spending in the Parks?

We are big Disney parks fans. I would suggest 4 days.